A Slice of Michigan: Farmers Ensure Essential Ingredients for Detroit-Style Pizza

In partnership with: Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development

Michigan residents have long been familiar with Detroit-style pizza, but the word is finally getting out to the rest of the country. The square, Sicilianstyle deep-dish pie – with copious amounts of cheese piled end-to-end, sauce drizzled on top and delectably crispy edges – is having a moment.

Also known as Red Top Pizza and Upside-Down Pizza, Motor City’s contribution to America’s pizza culture is becoming more wellknown thanks to its appearance on Pizza Hut’s nationwide menu early in 2021. The fast-food chain brought Detroit-style back in August after customers demanded its return. Michigan-based Jet’s Pizza, which started in Sterling Heights in 1978, now serves its famous Detroit-style pizzas in 20 states across the country.

Like any beloved food, the building blocks of Detroit-style pizza can be traced back, of course, to agriculture. From melty mozzarella cheese to tantalizing tomatoes, the Detroit-style pizza gets its start on the farm.

See more: Exploring the Supply Chain: How Local Food Gets From Farm to Table

Moo-re Cheese

Michigan’s 1,200 dairy farms produce 11.6 billion pounds of milk per year, making the state sixth in milk production. The average farmer cares for 300 cows, and 97% of Michigan dairy farms are familyowned. Michigan cows are known for being the most productive cows in the country because of the state’s climate, innovations in technology and farmers’ commitment to animal welfare.

In addition to milk production, Michigan is home to several largescale cheese production facilities, including Leprino Foods, the world’s largest mozzarella cheese maker. It’s likely that Pizza Hut customers who try the chain’s Detroit-style pizza are enjoying mozzarella made in Michigan.

“Leprino literally built its business on pizza,” says Jodi Gruner, an economic and community development specialist with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. “Their cheese is used on frozen pizzas, in fast food pizza like Domino’s and Pizza Hut, and they also sell to food distribution companies who provide mozzarella to restaurants.”

Another cheese processing facility, Midwest Cheese (MWC), opened in St. Johns in 2020 and produces 300 million pounds of American block cheddar per year. On the same site, Proliant Dairy produces 20 million pounds of whey protein powders each year. MWC employs more than 270 workers and uses 8 million pounds of Michigan milk every day.

“They are using a lot of milk,” Gruner says. “Dairy farms depend on processing entities within the state. These facilities and others allow Michigan dairy farmers to save money on transportation costs and have a dedicated home for their milk.”

See more: How Robotic Milkers Position Michigan Dairies for Success

Extra Sauce, Please

In Michigan, the growing season for vegetables is short – May to October. But in the 1940s, Canadian farmer Umberto Mastronardi built the first commercial greenhouses in North America and extended the growing season by several months. Two generations later, his grandson, Paul Mastronardi, pioneered the creation of branded tomato varieties like Campari.

While Mastronardi’s tomatoes don’t end up in pizza sauce – they’re mostly sold on grocery store shelves and to food distribution companies – Mastronardi says if you’re making pizza at home, Campari tomatoes should be on your grocery list.

“The best pizza sauce you could make would be using Campari tomatoes,” Mastronardi says. “That sauce would be the perfect base for your gourmet pizza.”

As for Mastronardi’s tomatoes, they’re grown exclusively in greenhouses throughout Canada and U.S. locations in Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, New York and Maine. The company distributes its produce under the Sunset Produce brand within a 400-mile radius of each location (that’s an eight-hour drive).

Mastronardi’s facility in Coldwater is the company’s flagship in the U.S. and employs more than 1,000 people. It includes 100 acres with a mile of glass greenhouses. In addition to tomatoes, Mastronardi also grows cucumbers and berries in Coldwater.

“Greenhouse growing allows us to reduce food miles and offer a fresher product,” Mastronardi says. “Because we are growing locally, we can pick at the last minute and have it on a grocery store shelf in 24 hours. It also allows us to supply fresh tomatoes in the middle of winter. And when there are water shortages in California, Florida and Mexico, we aren’t affected by that because greenhouse tomatoes use 1/20th of the water used in field farming.”